Event Tents

Sometimes, when it comes to marketing, you can’t beat an in-person event. More than 40% of marketers stated that they believed events were more effective marketing channels than digital marketing such as email and content marketing. In another survey, nearly half of all respondents said they planned on hosting more events in the year to come. Additionally, respondents noted that they would be boosting their marketing and promotion budgets for the events they were planning.

In-person events give your brand a chance to directly engage with new leads and the opportunity to reach previously untapped audiences. Whether your company is hosting its own event or has booked a booth or table at one, such as a convention or trade show, you want to have the right tools and gear to make the best possible impression. What sets you apart on the market should also mark your presence at events. A beautifully branded event tent will stand out in the crowd and attract the attention you came to get.

At SpeedPro, you can choose a tent size and shape that works for the space, with multiple printing options to make it speak for you in big, bold graphics. Learn more about using a tent for events and the benefits of creating custom branded event tents.

Table of Contents

What Are Event Tents?

Where to Use Custom Event Tents

Benefits of Using a Tent for Events

What Are Event Tents?

An event tent is a type of shelter that often has a company’s logo or branding and identifying information printed on it. These tents provide the practical benefit of shade and shelter for your employees and guests, all while increasing your brand awareness.

Event tent manufacturers can use various materials to create tents that are ready to hold up to the outdoors. Some canopies are made of canvas material while others are made of vinyl, and frames can be steel or aluminum. Custom tents come in a variety of sizes and configurations. Some tents are just 5 feet on each side while others measure 20 feet in width. Whether you need a small, 5-foot tent or a considerably larger 20-foot model depends on the type of event you’re attending and how you plan on using the custom event tent.

One key distinction to make when it comes to event tents is between pop-up event tents and tubular frame tents.

Pop-Up Canopy Tents

As the name suggests, an event pop-up tent is designed to pop up without the need for a lot of assembly and tools. All you have to do is unfold it until it snaps into place and then fold it back up when you’re done. This is an extremely helpful feature when you have a limited amount of time to set up for an event or when you want to get your tent in place quickly so you can begin focusing on other things, like setting up your table and displays. It also saves you from having to bring tools along.

These tents feature a frame with four legs and a support structure that holds up a canopy top. This canopy provides some protection from the elements. For example, it can protect against rain and provide shade against the sun. Depending on the type of canopy, the frames can be made from steel or aluminum. Some are square while others are tubular domes.

Some canopies also have walls on one or more sides, but the walls don’t usually enclose the entire space. A canopy’s wall can make up the full width and height of the canopy, or it can partially cover an area. The wall can serve as a barrier to further separate the tent from other booths and tables at an event. If it has a full wall, it can also provide an eye-catching backdrop.

Frame Event Tents

Other custom event tents require more time and tools to put together, but they can be a great option for event marketers, as well. One advantage of choosing these tents is that you typically have some larger sizes to choose from. The pop-up model can only support modest-sized tents, so if you want a large structure for your event, a frame tent is likely the way to go. As with pop-up tents, frame tents can include just a canopy top, or they can include side walls, as well.

Some of these tents consist of frames that are supported by stakes you drive into the ground. These are known as pole tents, and they can be quite large. Pole tents include poles in the center of the tent in addition to the outside frame to support the canopy adequately.

Some frame tents are made from tubular pole frames that support a canopy without the need for center poles. You also don’t have to drive stakes into the ground to support a tubular tent, meaning you can set up these tents on hard surfaces like asphalt or a floor indoors.

Schedule a Free Consultation with SpeedPro to Determine the Best Type of Tent for Your Event

Where to Use Custom Event Tents

Whether at an arena or a fairground, a concert or industrial expo, for a regular festival vendor or a holiday promotion, an event tent is a covered branding opportunity that invites passersby to stop by and discover what’s inside. It can communicate the brand message on printed walls and be outfitted with branded kiosks, display counters or table throws.

In very sunny or rainy weather, an event tent also offers the attractive advantage of branded shelter from the elements. All of SpeedPro’s event tent options are easy to set up, break down and pack away for transport or storage.

Need some inspiration or ideas for using event tents? Here are a few places where having a branded tent can come in handy:

• Festivals: In many cities, the summer season is really “festival season.” Some areas hold different festivals practically every weekend during May, June, July, August and September. Companies that are selling their products or that plan on setting up information booths at a festival can use custom event tents to catch the attention of attendees who might be curious to see what the company has to offer. The covering on the tent can also provide shelter against the sun and heat during the summer months.
• Trade shows: Trade shows give businesses a chance to meet new customers and reconnect with current or past ones. They’re usually only open to those already in the industry rather than the general public and give companies a real opportunity to shine and set themselves apart from the competition. Even if a trade show takes place indoors, having an event tent can be useful. For one thing, the height of it can help to make your booth or area more visible to people on the other side of the trade show floor. Having a tent set up can also help you differentiate areas of your booth. For example, you can use the area under the tent for signing up clients or finishing transactions.
• Conferences: Conferences are usually programs during which people who work in a particular industry get together to share their thoughts or discuss current concerns or ideas in their fields. Conferences can also provide businesses with a chance to showcase their products and highlight their services, as many also feature an exhibitors’ or vendors’ hall. As at a trade show, an event tent can make your company’s booth or table stand out in a crowded exhibitor space.
• Weddings and celebrations: Not all types of branding need to be for marketing purposes. If you run an event- or wedding-planning business, you can use subtly branded tents during the programs you organize. For example, a tent used as a canopy at a wedding can have your company’s logo printed on it, but not so large that it looks as if you’re trying to steal attention away from the bride and groom. You can also use event tents to set up different areas at a celebration, such as a covered bar or food area at an outdoor wedding or a photo booth area.
• Concerts and performing arts events: Whether they take place outdoors or in a closed theater or arena, performing arts events and concerts are an ideal location for event tents. If you’re a food or beverage vendor, you can set up a tent to keep your customers — and your staff — covered while serving concessions at an outdoor performance. If you’re selling merchandise for the artists appearing at the concert, a tent can provide coverage to your staff as well as make it easier for attendees to find their way to the merch table.
• Farmers’ markets: Many farmers’ markets take place rain or shine, in cold weather or hot. A tent that features a farm’s logo or branding will make a farmer’s stand easier to spot and give the people and products at the market some shelter.
• Craft shows: Like farmers’ markets, craft shows often take place no matter what the weather’s doing. In the spring and summer, they tend to be outside. Canopies that have half or full walls will make a crafter’s booth stand out and provide additional protection to the products on sale inside the tent.
• Product launches: Product launches are all about building buzz and excitement for whatever your company has up its sleeve next. Your brand can use canopies and tents at its next product launch over the registration tables and in the areas where people can purchase the new product or sign up for more information about it.
• Conventions: Conventions are similar to trade shows and conferences but are usually open to a wider audience. For example, a car or comic book convention is often open to the public and usually attracts people who are particularly interested in that particular niche. Conventions can be great opportunities for companies to find new customers or reconnect with their fans. If the convention is outdoors, a tent will provide shelter from the elements. Indoors, it can be an eye-catching tool that helps people find your booth in a busy hall.
• Sporting events: Sporting events — especially charity events where teams or individuals are coming together to play for a good cause — can be an ideal spot for a company to set up a corporate event tent. Vendors selling food or merchandise at the event and the organizers of the event who might need to sell or collect tickets or greet VIP attendees can use a tent.

Reach Out to Your Local SpeedPro to Create a Custom Tent for Your Next Event

Benefits of Using a Tent for Events

When you’re planning on attending an event, you’ve most likely got a lot of planning and prepping to do beforehand. Why add creating a custom branded event tent to your to-do list? Setting up a tent can have multiple benefits for your company that make it well worth the effort. Here are just a few:

• Customization: Trade shows, exhibition halls, festivals and fairs all tend to be crowded areas full of companies that are all trying to connect with customers and sell products that are in many ways similar. Your business needs to stand out, and setting up shop under a customized tent — in contrast with a plain old white tent or non-branded tent — will let you do just that. Along with giving you the opportunity to print your brand’s name and logo on the tent, many are available in a range of colors, so you can choose an eye-catching hue that complements your logo or that’s one of your company’s signature colors.
• Weather-proofing: Most tents are designed to be used outdoors, which means they’re designed to withstand whatever the weather throws their way, from hail to rain and from snow to wind. You can count on your tent lasting, no matter what sorts of conditions you subject it to.
• Protection from the weather: Not only are event tents weather-proof, but they’re also going to give you and your team some shelter from whatever the weather’s doing. If there’s a persistent drizzle on the day of a farmers’ market, a tent will keep you dry. If the sun is shining at its brightest while you’re selling your merchandise or food at an outdoor concert, you can rely on your tent to provide cover and shade.
• Portability: Event tents are meant to be transported, which means you’ll be able to pack them up and take them with you wherever you’re headed — no need for a fancy special truck or large van. Putting the tent components into a wheeled carry bag makes it especially easy to transport your tent, especially from your vehicle to the spot where you’re going to set up.
• Flexibility: Depending on the type of tent you choose, you can usually configure it how you’d like. For example, you can pick a tent with a full wall that can serve as a vivid backdrop to your booth or one with half walls to create a dividing line between your booth and the others at an event. A tent that’s just a canopy without any sides can be ideal if you’re not sure of the size of the crowd you’ll attract.
• Ease of setup and breakdown: At the end of a long event day, the last thing you want to do is spend hours packing up your booth before heading home. Fortunately, event tents are designed to set up quickly and break down easily. You won’t have to spend a long time wrestling with the tent. Additionally, pop-up tents come together and apart without the use of specialized tools and equipment.
• Separate area setups: Depending on the type of event you’re attending or the amount of space your company has, you can use tents to create different areas. For example, the tent can be the site of your box office, or it can be where people go when they’re ready to make a purchase. A customized, branded tent also creates a clear dividing line between your business and others at a trade show, festival, outdoor market or performance.
• A product that works well with other branded pieces: Custom event tents aren’t the only branded products you can use. The tents also pair well with other outdoor products that you’ll likely need for trade shows, such as banners and signs. If you’re doing product demonstrations or serving food and drinks, you can combine your tent with a portable pop-up bar or counter so that people have a flat surface to use to try out the product or prep their snack.

Contact a Studio Near You for Help Customizing Your Event Tent

SpeedPro Will Help You Customize Your Event Tent

If you want to create a custom branded event tent for an upcoming convention, trade show or other community or corporate event but aren’t sure where to start, SpeedPro can help. At SpeedPro, we’ll be your partner first and your printer second. We’ll work with you to create your ideas in big, bold graphics. You tell us what you want to say and where, and we’ll suggest the best ways to say it and show you examples from our portfolio.

With a branded tent, your business can be the talk of the next event you attend. To get started designing your attention-grabbing tent, find a SpeedPro studio near you today.